Engine starter



Sept. 22, 1925. z 1,554,623

J. A. CHARTER ENGINE STARTER 'Filed March 1 1924 I l l UNIJTD STATES PTENTU OFFICE.

` JAMEs A. onARTER, or cIcAeo, ILLtINoIs.

ENGINE sTAR'rER.

Applicatiqn led March 1, 1924. Serial No. 696,126.

T0 mll 'whomu it may concemfi Be it known that I, JAMES A. CHARTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Engine Starters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to* mechanism -of the type commonly called starters or clutch shifting mechanisms, inlwhich the rotation of a comparatively light source of power as for instance a starting electric motor, is to be in the end transmitted to an initially stationary heavy motor, as for instance an automobile engine, which when it starts, travels faster and independently of the original -motor, which is thereafter automatically disc'onnected from the heavyengine. The deviceV is also 'applicable as' a gradually acceleratlng starting and drlvlng mechanlsm for various sorts of machmes, as

`for instance air compressors,punches, and

. so forth. l Under thiscsupposition the original motor `does continuous .driving The Object of the invention is to greatly simplify mechanisms of this class, heretofore more or less in -useparticularly by com- .plete elimination of the expensive and inefficient screw threaded shaft and the equally expensive and ineflicient screw threads of the inside of the pinion or gear traveling on Said screw threaded shaft in said prior devices.

The invention consists in mechanism for attaining the foregolngand other ob]ects which can be easily, and cheaply made;

which is highly efiicient and otherwise 'very Satisfactory in operation, and which does not get out of order, particularly in that it can- ,illustrating this invention in its preferred form in the. position Which the parts assume when :the starting mechanism is wholly disthe gear teeth or the fly-'wheel of'the engine to be started.

Figure 3 is a sectional detail view on the line 3-3-, Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional changed position view on Figure 1 of the parts of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a sectional detail view on 'the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

` In the drawings the starting motor of an automobile is conventionally shown as rectangle 10, attached to and 'capable of, driving conventional 'motor shaft 12. `As here shown, shaft 12 passes thrn and is detachably secured to concentric sleeve 14, by means of any suitable attaching device, such for instance, as the Set screw 16. The shaft 12 and the Sleeve 14, may if desired be in one piece without departing from this invention. In the claims, the word shaft is used to include both said constructions. In

the particular construction shown the Sleeve 14 has the advantageV of carrying the IStarter mechanism ,hereafter described as a sepa-" rate uni-t, so that by disengaging and reunit from 'the shaft 12 and consequently from operating relation with the motor 10, thus making it interchangeable with types now on the zmarket.

Rotatably mounted upon the sleeve 14 is a conventional starting pinion 18 reciprocatable valong Sleeve 14 from the position of Figure 1 Where it is clear of engine fly wheel 20 to the position of Figure 2 in which the teeth of the' pinion operatively mesh with the gear teeth on the, surface of the fly i wheel. It is to be understood that by conventional means, not shown, the sleeve 14 and of course shaft 12, is non-reciprocable' lengthwise of itself and the fly wheel 20 is suitably moun-ted adjacent to the motor shaft 12: and Sleeve 14 so that the described engagement and disengagement ofj pinion 18 and fly wheel gear teeth 20 may take place:-

In order to Vfacilitate'the ready operation of plnlon 18, as described, the right hand ends of the gear teeth on lthe pinion are conventionally champered off in the diagonal suface 22.

Rigid With the opposite or left hand end ofv pinion 18, preferably but not necessarily integral therewith, is a flanged disk 24 havingprojecting from' its side opposite to,the pinion 18, a crank pin or Stud. 26 screw threaded to receive a nut 28 adapted to bind and hold rigidly in place on the. crank pin one end loop 30 of a Spring 32 spirally wound around and rotatable with reference to the Sleeve 14 in a multiplicity of convolutions, as shown, and terminating at its opposite end in a U-shaped loop or stop 34 connecting two adjacent 'convolutions of the Spring. The convolutions of the Spring 32 are spaced sufiiciently one`from the other so as to form a Space for the reception and travel of the radially projecting lug 36 rigidly attached,

preferably integral with, a point on the eX- i ternal circumference of the Sleeve 14 that 20 tioular construction here shown, integral isto say, integral with-the Sleeve of the parwith the shaft 12 and 14 when they a'r'e made integral with each other, as heretofore Suggested.

Assume that the parts are in the position of Figure lewith both' the motor and the engine to be started at rest and With the Stud 36 in engagement with the crank pin 26, viz with thel pinion 18 as far to the left'along the Sleeve 14 as it is possible for it to go-: this because of the engagement of members 26 and 36, as described. The operator desiring to ultimately start the machine, whatever it may be, belonging to fly wheel 20, say specifically an automobile engine, starts the motor 10 by any conventional operation not entering into this invention. The motion -of the motor quickly starts rotation of shaft 12 and Sleeve 14 rigidly united to it in a clockwise direction, as illustrated in Figures 3 to 5 inclusive, from the positions of Flgures 1 and 3, toward the positions of Figures 2 and 5. This rotation of the Sleeve 14 and consequently of Stud 36, rigid withl it, causes the Stud to traverse the convolutions of' the springs 32, thus fore-ing the Spring 32, the disk 24 and the Vgear 18 nonro'tatively to lthe right as viewed in Finn' ure 1' from the position of that figure to the position of Figure 2 in which the .teeth of gear 18 enter and mesh with the gear teeth on'fly wheel 20. The Spring 32 allows sufficient endwise play of pinion 18 so that the gear teeth on the pinion can find entrance to the gear teeth on Wheel 20 if the two sets of teeth are not in register in the first instance, and this endwise movement of the pinion into mesh with the gear continues until just as the meshing is completed the Stop end 34 of Spring 32 engages Stud 36 on shaft 14. ;The instant this takes place (see Fig. 2) the Shaft through Stop end 36' of Spring 32 rotates the Spring and conseguently pinion 18 and consequently gear l20. top end 34 of Spring 32 isso positioned that it engages Stud 36 just at the instant gears 18 and 20 are fully in mesh and power is to be transmitted through Stud 36 and the Spring to cause rotation. The shock of starting of the engine or other machine controlled by fly wheel 20 is taken up and compensated for by the resiliency of the Spring 32, which flexes ciroumferentally of the Sleeve 14 froml the loose wound position of Figure 3 in Which there is a clear space 38 between the Spring and Sleeve and the tight wound position of Figure 5 in which this clearance is entirely eliminated' and the Spring binds and grips to Sleeve 14, thus afording a positive clutching action on the circumference of the Sleeve 14, thereby eliminating to a large eXtent if not completely, the strain on the Stud 36 when the parts vfinally reach the position of Figures 2 and 5 the automobile engine supposedly attached to wheel 20 until such time as the engine itself starts under its own power and conventionally attains 4a Speed greater than the Speed: of motor 10 which was driving it. The moment this takes place the strain on the pinion 18 is relaxed thus reducing the gripping action caused byV the springs binding on the Sleeve 14, as shown and heretofore described in connection with Figure 5,V thus allowing the Spring to return to the normal expanded condition illustrated immediately adjacent to the sleevejn Figure 3, thereby restoring the clearance space 38. As soon vas thislcondition exists the excessive speed of rotation of the engine over the Vspeed of the motor causes the pinion 18 and the Spring 32, rigidly attached thereto, to revolve in a counterclockwis'e direction. as viewedV in Figures 3 and 5, over the Sleeve 14. This forced rotation of ,the pinion ,and Spring forces the Spring to traverse the Stud 36 which thus forces the pinion and Spring to travel from -the position of Figure 2 back to the position of Figures 1 and 3, whereupon the motor 10 having been stopped by the Operator these parts stop.

One of the features and advantages of this invention is to eliminate from prior devices va special holding mechanism for Securing the parts in fixed disengaged position. This is accomplished by so positioning the Stud 36 on the Sleeve 14'in relation to the pinion 18 that when bv accident the motor stops with the 'lug 36 in extreme u'pright poslJ With the Stud 36, can by gravity set in operation by the jar of the automobile or engine, drop down to the position of Figure 4 where the crank pin 26 is at its lowest position, and therefore Will not move any further Withoutmoving the pinion 18 far enough to the right from the position of Figure 1 so that it clashes with gear 20. Because of this construction no independent or auxiliary means is necessary for holding the parts in disengagement position.

The U-Shaped loop or end 34: On the Spring 32 is so positioned that When the parts are in the position of Figures 2 and 5 no further movementv of the pinion 18 to the right or into the gear on Wheel 20 can take place and it is therefore unneces- Sary to provide, as in prior. devices, a special Stop collar or the like for preventing such further movement of the pinion. T'his elinlinates Without the use of supplemental stopping mechanism, all possibility of the looking, sticking, or binding of the pinion 18 on its sleeve 14 during the time the pinion is in engagement With the gear teet-h on the fly Wheel. It will be noticed that dis regarding all details the Sleeve 111 is a driving membel`l`; the pinion 18 is a power transmitting member; and the fiy Wheel 20 is a driven member. These terms are used generically in some of the claims.

It Will be noticed that, given a motor 10 with its sllaft 12 and a Wheel 20 to be driven the sleeve 14 and all attached parts may be prepared and Sold as a commerical unit for application thereto in obvious manner.

Having thus 'described my invention,

v What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In mechanism of the class described, a rotatable driving member, a rotatable lnember to be driven adjacent thereto, a power transmitting member rotatable on said driving member and reciprocable thereon into and out of engagelnent With the member to be driven, a coiled Spring en circling said driving member and atfixed to said power transmitting member Whereby it is otatable and reciprocable on Said driving member in unison With said Vpower transmitting member, a projection on Said driving member adapted to traverse the convolutions-of said Spring to move Said power transmitting member into and out of engagement With said member to be driven,` and a stop carried by said Spring engageable by said projection, said stop, When engaged by said projection, limiting movement of Said driving member in the direction of the member to be driven and o also limiting rotation of said driving member relative to said Spring Whereby the latter acts torsionally to transmitrotative inovement of Said driving member to said power transmitting member.

:2. In mechanism of the class described, a rotatable driving member, a l'otatable member to be driven adjacent thereto, a power transmitting ,member rotatable on said driving member and reciprocable thereon into and out of engagement With the member to be driven, a. coiled Spring encircling Said driving member and aflixed to` said power transmitting member, a projection on said driving member movable between the. convolutions of said Spring to Shift said powertransmitting lnember into and out of engagement With said lnember to be p whereby the latter ac-ts torsionally to trans-- mit rotative movement of said driving member to said power transmitting member.

3. In Vmechamsm of the class described, a commercial unit comprsing a shaft, a pinion rotatable and reciprocable on said shaft, a coiled Spring encircling said shaft4 and aflixed to said pinion, a projection on said shaft movable between theconvolutions of said Spring, and a stop carried by Said Spring engageable by said projection to limit rotation and recfiiproc-al movement of'said Spring With respect to said shaft.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto subscribed vmy name.

JAMES A. OHARTER. 

